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Street Machine |
Copyright/Publisher: Software Invasion, Release Year: 1987,
Genre: Racing Sports, Number Of Players: 1
Street Machine is a motor racing simulation with a straightforward objective: to
complete a set course as quickly and safely as possible.
Prior to a race the screen display eight cars, one of which is chosen by the player. The race
begins with an aerial view of the starting grid. The eight cars line up in pairs, with the chosen
vehicle placed in the back row. A signal sounds... and they're off - the player's seven
opponents under computer control.
If a corner is taken too quickly, the car skids off the road and crashes. A particularly
horrific smash-up causes the car to explode, and disqualifies you from the race, If the crash
iis less severe, the screen changes to show a list of seventy car components and their
'damage total' percentages.
A timer ticks down, and using a cursor the components have to be
highlighted one at a time to reduce their damage number. The object of this exercise is to get
all the damage totals to below 30 within the allotted time - failure to do so results in the
car becoming a write-off and being removed from the race. If the car is repaired in time however,
it is put back on the orad and allowed to carry on racing.
The race continues in this fashion until the course is completed or the car is disqualified.
On completion, the time taken is displayed and the race starts again - although this time
the roads are more slippery, and consequently the course is more difficult.
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GARY PENN |
I was slightly amused by Street Machine at firsty - but opnly because it's so bad. The action
is slow, jerky and datewd - just like the graphics, and then there are the awful sound effects...
Basically, there's nothing even halfway decent about this game. It's immensely overpriced, and
offers little in the way of entertainment - well, apart from the unintentional initial amusement.
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Julian Rignall |
This is awful - there's no question about it. The gameplay is archaic and the damage screen is
totally useless - adding as much to the action as a poke in the eye. The graphics are of similar
ilk: eight unimaginative single-colour sprites racing over a poorly drawn landscape which judders
and jerks as it scrolls. The sound is also pathetic, with the simplest of spot effects complementing
the most rudimentary of explosions. When you consider that for an extra quid you can buy Super
Cycle or Pitstop II, it becomes pretty obvious that the whole package is grossly over-priced.
I recommend you look elsewhere if you want a decent racing simulation.
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P.S. |
Street Machine is a variation on a theme that has been around as long as the 64 - AND WE'RE ALL
BORED WITH IT! I managed to survive one mindless hour of this today - it wasn't totally unpleasant,
but I can't honestly see myself over wanting to do it again. The graphics are of a standard that
would have been laughed at three years ago - the sprites are blocky and poorly detailed, and
the track scrolls abysmally. The sound is also pretty limp, with a bog-standard engine noise
and a couple of effects that are hardly likely to impress anyone. It just isn't good enough
to warrant its high price - but these days how many programs are?
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